Fender American Performer Precision Bass - Satin Lake Placid Blue with Maple Fingerboard Reviews

I love everything about this bass. The blue is just gorgeous and fit and finish just perfect. Neck feels wonderful - fairly slim - very easy to navigate. I love the light colored maple and especially the headstock.

I mostly play guitar but I have a new love and appreciation for playing bass - I didn't think I'd like it so much. I took a chance and it really paid off.

Sweetwater was awesome to deal with - Nicholas from SW really helped me out and answered all my questions. He dealt with me being fickle and getting this bass after ordering a different one.

This bass sounds and feels great. It's everything I expected it to be and more. Don't settle for a bass that "saves you money". Go with the financing and get what you want.

This one is awesome. Sounds and plays as well as any bass at any price - you simply cannot go wrong with an AMERICAN-MADE FENDER!

I finally decided to get a professional American Fender Precision Bass. Had a mediocre Yamaha bass forever but knew I needed this to sound pro. Even without an amp you can feel and hear the difference. This amazing instrument was still in perfect tune after the shipping process. WHAT???

So I put it through a bass amp simulator in Pro Tools and it really didn't even sound like me playing, even something simple sounds amazing. If you've been on the fence about getting a fender p bass, just do it, you won't regret it! Oh and the blue finish is beautiful!!!

Was looking for a first bass to work on my own low-end and try something new. This bass really delivers a lot of tone and punch for what it is! Look up "PJ Bass Blindfold Quiz" on YouTube and tell me you can't hear this bass!

So much clarity in every tone option, from funky P-bass to something a little more full bodied, I really get the feeling this model will last me a long time. And also big thanks to Sweetwater for the sick setup, intonation and action is a perfect A++

This bass is a beautiful instrument. The finish is cool because of its vintage history. This is my second bass and I am looking forward to growing as a musician.

This is a very good playing bass. I have a few basses but this is my favorite one. Love the sound that it puts out. Can't go wrong with getting one.

This is a great bass to play. Had Sweetwater set it up for me and did a unreal job. This is the best playing bass that I have. Love the two different pickups on one bass. Thank Sweetwater and Brent for a job well done.

I am normally a "pick-up purist" in that I haven't liked any P/J combos I've played previously, but the tone on this bass is undeniably rich. It has a "honk" that cuts through the mix really well.
Lots of warmth no matter what tone you dial in. The P pickups are fat and rich, with the Jazz pickups adding a thick mid-range. Also, if you dig his tone, it's very easy to get a Duff McKagan type of sound with the bridge/Jazz pick up dialed all the way in.

Classic Fender tones for a fair price.

I have an American Geddy Lee Jazz, which now takes a backseat to this bass. (As has my American Precision, for that matter.) The neck on the Performer feels much better/faster, and it is much lighter than the Geddy, as well. This has become my go-to bass for everything from jamming by myself, to professional recording sessions.

It feels great, it looks great, it plays great. I swapped out the pickguard for a mirrored one and it fairs nicely with the beautiful blue color. LOVE the maple neck!

As a guitar player I was looking for a solid bass that would be great for gigging and recording. Very happy with this one. It sounds great and the Jazz pickup (with its own volume knob) is a great tonal addition as well. Super flexible bass sound, plays great, no issues with fretwork. Only downside with the lake placid model is that the finish is very thin. Now this is cool if you're into relic'd guitars because you'll inevitably wear the finish off with even the lightest nicks and bumps.

My shopping experience with Sweetwater and my sales engineer, Dontae Harris far exceeded my expectations on my purchase of a Fender Precision Bass. He was always right there to answer questions I had, and ensured I got exactly what I was looking for. I could have bought this item directly from the manufacturer, but Sweetwater gave me the best possible price on my gear. I will return for all future purchases, as I know I will be treated with the respect due a valued customer

I just had to have the Lake Placid blue Fender bass! I wanted this style but that satin blue just called to me...
It's a very comfortable feel and didn't take long to transition from my older bass to this one. The vintage key tuner knobs are pretty! We were a bit hesitant on what it would sound like with the different style pickups but it actually provided a little more variation on what you could do with it. I've already decided I like both tuners at full volume and it provides a little deeper, muddier tone to it. If I want to drop the 'mud' and give it a crisper sound, just turn down the volume on the split-single coilto allow more jazzy tune to come through. I'm glad I decided to upgrade from a foreign Fender bass to get the American-made Fender - it's a great investment, will hold it value, and That Blue is gorgeous!!

This was my first American made guitar purchase and I couldn't be happier with it. I had been playing a MIL Jazz Bass for a long time with active pickups, so the passive pickups took some getting used to, but this guitar sounds absolutely brilliant. I love Fender basses and this is a great guitar for the money. I would definitely recommend this for gigging and session bassists.

I purchased the P bass as a studio bass. There's a reason session musicians play P basses, they sound like what you expect a bass should sound like. The bass came perfectly in tune and ready to rock!

I bought this guitar because Fender has always been a leader in guitars. I played for years with cheap, crappy guitars trying to save money. I decided I was ready to invest and that I was worth it. Boy am I glad I did. Playing with quality really pumps me up. When the guitar arrived, everything was perfect. No set up was required. Litterally it was plug and play. It is beautiful. I bought this with the Fender Rumble Studio 40. What a pair. Fender also gives you a 2 year warranty for free. Go with Sweetwater. I also had a great salesman who gave me a special Fathers Day deal.

The greatest sounding and feeling bass i've ever played...

Came out of the box set up beautifully. The pickups really pack a punch and the modern C shape on the neck plays smoothly.. The satin blue finish is absolutely gorgeous. Immediately became my #1 bass. Will update review once it sees some gig time

I just got a 2019 with maple neck. The neck and fret work is in the area of former US Deluxe or Ultimate.

The first time I grabbed it by the neck, I immediately felt something was right about it. The setup was right and for some reasons the neck feels very comfortable.

I love those Alnico 5 pup and the Greasebucket tone circuit falls just in my kind of taste. I honestly got this used thinking it was just an American Standard P/J but I was surprised by the features, neck and serial number and looked it up to realized it was an American Performer and read about it. When I found out about the pups and the tone circuit, I got way more excited.

It came with decent d'Addario strings and the action was set just the way I like, that's probably why it felt right at first.

This is my first P with maple neck and I love everything about. The playability and the Sound are just right.

I own exclusively American Precision, Jazz and one Dimension V Ultimate and Japanese Contoured Precision 54. This is a great addition to my setup and I will use it mostly with 80' and 90' classic rock. However the vintage characteristics of the Alnico pup and the tone circuit will let me explore Blues, Funk and 60' Psychedelic Rock as well.

Professional Bassist with decades of experience performing live music and a hired session guy. I have many custom high end basses to lower line.

I love PJ setup type basses and saw that Fender has this Performer which I believe is their introductory American made Bass line. I was attracted to the aesthetics being a blue matte with a maple neck, which is the only maple neck I own.

I did a series of gigs literally out of the box no set up, no trust rod adjustment, the strings that came with it even down to no strap locks ha ha. In different situations, I've had to tune a half step down as well as standard tuning, and it holds its tuning quite well, I buy a dtuner for the E string which is the only modification I did initially. The bass perform as it should perfectly play in different genres of music, duo trio, and full band situations.

After several weeks, owning it and playing it, I put it in the hands of a good friend of mine that did a rod adjustment, and reset my action. The pick ups are a wide range of tone control for the different types of genres.

I enjoy having this Bass in my arsenal to pick from. For the money I would recommend this Bass for any enthusiast as a joy to play ergonomically, lightweight, nice matte neck.

I will start by saying due to recent personal matters I had to downsize all of my gear so I am coming from a Sadowsky NYC so I may be a little spoiled. But, this bass would be better suited in a lower price bracket and I have never played a Fender that is worth what they price out at. Not sure why Fender continues to manufacture basses without hum inducing electronics in a world of home recordists and perfectionists. After pricing out what it would take to make this bass what I need it to be sonically it's disheartening. Fender needs to spend some time with some pickup and pre companies and get it figured out for the modern player. It does play ok so far, letting it get acclimated some more before I start tweaking.